There’s nothing quite likeThe Last Picture Show— directed byPeter Bogdanovich, it was only his second feature and isnow considered one of the greatest films of the 70s,for itsdeconstruction of the American Dream through its teen leads.It started the careers of many young actors, includingJeff Bridges, alongsideCybill Shepherd,Timothy Bottoms, andRandy Quaid. Striking a chord with audiences and critics alike, it’s a stark, black-and-white filmed period piece set in the 50s.
Prior toThe Last Picture Show,Bridges was mostly knownfor his work as a child actoralongside his brother,Beau Bridges. They both appeared in their father,Lloyd Bridges,hit TV show,Sea Hunt.Bogdanovich’s film was an important transition from Bridges identity as a child star, to a serious actor.Bridgesperformance as an angry high school jockin Texas rocked audiences. Leading to his first Academy Award nomination, his fresh-faced portrayal as a rebellious youthremains a crucial turning point in his career.
What is ‘The Last Picture Show’ About?
Bottoms stars as high school senior, Sonny Crawford, in the small Texas town of Anarene, in 1951.Bridges plays his rowdy best friend, Duane Jackson,and the two play on the comicallybad high school football teamwith a long losing streak. Shepherd plays Duane’s manipulative girlfriend, Jacy Farrow, and the three have a complicated friendship as Sonny holds feelings for Jacy.Ben Johnsonplays the pool hall owner, Sam the Lion, alongsideEllen Burstynas Jacy’s heavy-drinking mother, Lois, andCloris Leachmanas Ruth, a depressed housewife.Sonny begins an affair with Ruth, and the film becomes a series of lonely vignettes,aseveryone falls into affairs and secret romancesto add some meaning to their lives. Based on the acclaimed novel of the same name written byLarry McMurty(Lonesome Dove), he co-wrote the script with Bogdanovich.
Bridges Received a Best Supporting Actor Nomination in 1972
Bridges' sneering performance as a jealous, working-class teenlanded him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in 1972 at 23 years old.But, he lost to co-star Ben Johnson’sthunderous performance as the town’s patriarch, Sam the Lion. Sporting a boyish charm that would be reincarnated for years to come,Bridges set the groundwork for future portrayals of high school male athletes chained to their own masculinity.It’s hard not to think of fellow teen Texas native, Tim Riggins, played byTaylor KitschinFriday Night Lights, when watching Bridges' performance. Duane guzzles down beer and chases girls, andwants nothing more than to sleep with his elusive girlfriend, Jacy.
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Bridges plays Duane like a tragedy.His mannerisms in angry outbursts and moping faces when Jacy rejects him make him seemlike an immature boy when he so desperately wants to be a “man.“He is a haunting portrayal of wasted youth, shown through the miserable, muted adultswho themselves are haunting the streets in their own sadness, doomed to live the rest of their lives out in a town where nothing happens. The movie then foreshadows thatthese vivacious teens are also doomed to become mirrors of their own parents,and it’s just the cruel cycle of life.
‘The Last Picture Show’ Is a Cautionary American Tale of Love and Friendship
Bridges’ and Bottoms' chemistry as Sonny and Duane creates one of the most visceral, on-screen depictions of male friendship in youth,and the toxic masculinity that blooms in adolescence.Bogdanovich creates a cautionary tale through his direction and script with co-writer, McMurty, as both boys define their own worth only in the women they snag, not themselves. Bridges’s ability to gofrom a wise-cracking, smiling jock to viciously shattering a bottleover his childhood best friend’s head is part of what makes Duane so chilling. Similarly, each scene is blunt and unforgiving. From empty pool halls to empty streets,Bogdanovich paints a picture of emptiness, like the unfulfilled lives everyone in town lives.
Having also received nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography, and Best Adapted Screenplay,Roger EbertcalledThe Last Picture Showthe best film of 1971, and went on toinclude it in his renowned list of “Great Films.“Alongside Johnson’s Oscar win for Best Supporting Actor,Leachman would win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress over co-star, Burstyn.Bridges nomination remains well deserved, as his portrayal was heartbreaking, detestable, and endearing all at once. He then went on to receive four additional Academy Award nominations before finally winning for Best Actor forCrazy Heart.Now starring in the daring FX action series,The Old Man,Bridges was fearless from day one, andThe Last Picture Showremains one of his greatest roles, albeit aching.
The Last Picture Show
The film explores the lives of a group of high school friends facing adulthood and the dissolution of their community as they navigate personal challenges and relationships.
The Last Picture Showis available to rent or buy on Apple TV+ in the U.S.
WATCH ON APPLE TV+
